Player: TV Mogul Bonnie Hammer’s Secrets of Success

Bonnie Hammer, the new head of seven cable channels at NBC Universal
Photo: Adam Fedderly

It’s hard enough to persuade one person to fall in love with a product. Now try 3 million, seven nights a week. Such is the power of Bonnie Hammer, newly minted head of seven cable channels at NBC Universal. In 2003 she revived the SyFy channel, luring in viewers with Ron Moore’s revamped Battlestar Galactica. Then Hammer took over as president of the USA Network, where she linked beefy wrestlers (WWE) to quivering neurotics (Monk) under the chirpy rubric “Characters Welcome.” And it worked: USA has been the number one basic cable network for five years, valued at $11.7 billion. The 60-year-old Queens native explains her plans to make other NBC Universal channels grab your eyeballs.

Wired: Lots of entertainment executives claim to make decisions with their gut. You, however, have a checklist—a “brand filter.”

Bonnie Hammer: For USA, it’s three things: Is there a slightly flawed but likable lead character? Is there a strong drama with a dollop of humor? Is it blue skies? I mean that literally and figuratively. Exterior shots showing blue skies add a levity and brightness to each show. You also have to be able to describe it in a single sentence: Royal Pains—it’s Marcus Welby in the Hamptons.

Wired: So where did “Characters Welcome” fit in?

Bonnie Hammer: We had to figure out a way to tie together the wrestlers of the WWE with the furry critters of the Westminster Kennel Club and the quirky characters on Monk. Every show has that crucial element, but we tweak each one so it’s distinct. We’ve built a loyal fan base because viewers believe we’ll make them happy.

Wired: What about networks with other vibes? Will you have a checklist for each?

Bonnie Hammer: Channel brand is so key. I think most broadcasters choose their series, then try to make a mosaic of a schedule. We’re the opposite—we will not choose a show if it doesn’t fit exactly into our jigsaw puzzle.

Wired: You have the game-driven G4 in your stable now. What can you do with that?

Bonnie Hammer: I’m just trying to get my arms around it. The kids who are gaming aren’t watching television. So you have to figure out what their psychographic is—what they like, what they want. It will be a challenge.

Wired: What was your take on the Saturday Night Live skit about a game show that asks, “What is Burn Notice?” That was one of your big hits at USA, but the joke was that no one had heard of it.

Bonnie Hammer: The general feel was, we made it. SNL is dissing us! We’re in the mainstream!